With the ever-increasing threat of environmental crisis all around us, there are a few people who have taken a serious initiative to counter it. Emaan Rangoonwala, the founder of the startup “Code Green”, is one of them.
Ms. Emaan completed her Bachelor’s as well as Master’s degrees in psychology at Texas, USA. She has worked in multiple NGOs, clinics, and schools. After coming back to Pakistan, she worked with Maqtab from the Al-Ilm group and SZABIST, and had a long tenure with IOBM.
“Code Green” was created in November of 2018, and is a startup, which sells eco-friendly products for daily use. It aims to minimize the waste caused by them otherwise. To learn more about her startup, Hiba had an opportunity to interview Ms. Emaan.
How did you come to a ‘green’ way of thinking, and how did your own initiative begin?
I grew up in a fairly religious household, which played a major part in my upbringing. I was always taught to think of this world as an Amanah from Allah (swt), having a lot of focus on the environmental wellbeing. People tend to think that it is enough to pray, fast, and give charity to be a good Muslim. Though these are significant parts of our Deen, there is more to it as well.
It was purely a coincidence that I got to know about the issue of plastic waste. While surfing the Internet, I learnt how plastic waste is a significant contributor to environmental pollution. As I learnt more and more, I decided to try an eco-friendly product from Canada and ended up loving it.
We are told to take care of the environment but not specifically taught how much of an impact our actions and choices can have. My father always promoted the idea that whenever you do something in your life, it should be of benefit to someone. Considering the existing crisis and being aware of the methods, which can be adopted to change it, “Code Green” came into the picture, after I moved to Pakistan.
What challenges did you face in bringing about the awareness of greener lifestyle?
The most difficult challenge is to convince people that the problem is actually real. Different people come to this realization by different methods. Some people like facts and figures, other are influenced by famous personalities (domestic or international), and yet others get convinced through real life examples from around the globe, such as the whale, which was found with stomach full of plastic waste. In some cases, the ‘foot in the door’ method of persuasion works as well. Analyzing which person needs which method may be a little taxing, but it is an effective means to tell the people about the issue.
How did people react to your initiative?
I conducted an informal survey, in which I asked people, if they were willing to switch to more environmentally friendly products. The response was negative. Even after such results, I did not let this get to me and ended up being a person who would gladly step into the fire to change the people. Some may view it as being irrational or going against the tide, but I also realized that if I am willing to create a change, then there must be others like me who will be doing the same.
Has your background in psychology helped in your endeavour?
In comparison to my friends with a more technical background in similar businesses, psychology helped me in communicating with people – talking with them and convincing them. Although counselling psychology is not the same as social psychology, it would have been more helpful in this regard. My interests about how people think and how the human mind works helped quite a bit.
I learned through experiences, and after many interactions, I slowly came to understand and decipher the differences in people: being dressed in a certain style, looking at you in a certain way, the tone of their voice and their word choices.
How can individual people contribute to the betterment of the environment?
Firstly, by taking such small steps as telling people to save electricity and water and reduce litter – these small initiatives are very effective at attracting people towards the cause. Another method is to use eco-friendly alternatives, such as bamboo toothbrushes, reusable make-up wipes, reusable bags, and similar products. Besides this, it is helpful to share information on social media and spread awareness among people, as the more they know about the environmental crisis, the more likely they are to take the required steps for the benefit of the planet.
What are your thoughts about social entrepreneurship? Should it be promoted?
I believe it definitely should be promoted. People sometimes get confused between social work and entrepreneurship, thinking that if someone is doing something for a good cause, they should not make money out of it. On the contrary, it is alright to earn by it; plus, can there be a better way of making a living, than by helping people and caring for the environment?
Personally, I also felt that I should not be making a profit from things, which are meant to benefit people. Later, however, I realized that you need money, when you are doing research, marketing, handing samples and other things to survive in the market.
What future plans do you have for your company?
I would like to expand the organization by offering even more affordable and diverse products and continuing to work on increasing awareness among the people. Due to COVID-19, spike in dollar rates came, which bumped up our prices a little – I would like to resolve this as well. Lastly, I plan to expand my organization’s reach by a physical setup and starting to export.
Honestly, it is a miracle from Allah (swt) that all of this is working. Sometimes things appear to be going well on the surface, but it is a complete mess in the background. But I am positive that my humble efforts for the sake of environment will create change in the future.
We wish Ms. Rangoonwala success in her bid to heal and save the environment.
CodeGreen can be found online at https://codegreenpk.myshopify.com/
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